11 Responses to Carrot or the Stick

Oh, I found it. After a legal analysis of possible federal crimes — none of which exactly fits this extraordinary situation — the “money quote” emerges:

What Trump is alleged to have done is not a garden variety crime; it’s worse. It involved misusing $250 million in aid appropriated by Congress for his benefit—the kind of gross misconduct that easily clears the bar of high crimes and misdemeanors set by the Constitution when impeaching a president. Which means the best way to hold Trump accountable for that misconduct isn’t a criminal trial; it’s for Congress to impeach him.

During an interview with NPR, she said that “the Founders could never suspect that a president would be so abusive of the Constitution of the United States, that the separation of powers would be irrelevant to him and that he would continue, any president would continue, to withhold facts from the Congress, which are part of the constitutional right of inquiry.”

Later on Friday, she released a statement directly addressing the alarming revelations of the past few days that Trump reportedly extorted the Ukrainian President to launch a political investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, thus hobbling the current Democratic frontrunner.

“Reports of a reliable whistleblower complaint regarding the President’s communications with a foreign leader raise grave, urgent concerns for our national security,” she writes. “We must be sure that the President and his Administration are conducting our national security and foreign policy in the best interest of the American people, not the President’s personal interest.”

She also decries the administration’s refusal to allow the intelligence whistleblower to testify to Congress about Trump’s actions, but does not outline any steps to force the issue.

What is the matter with her? A grand mal failure of nerve? Surrender in advance? She identifies the problem but is unwilling to use the one weapon available to the Dems — formal impeachment hearings that could be stretched out to election day — to educate the public on the clear and present danger.

I’ve written her off as a pathetic defeatist, unwilling to use the weapons at her disposal to combat the greatest threat to our form of government this Nation has ever faced because she’s afraid we’ll “lose.”

Such thinking increases the risks that we will. It makes me almost physically ill to see such weakness and defeatism in the face of a mortal threat, from within.

The longer fat nixon is allowed to give us progressives and years of presidential decorum both the middle finger, I fully believe that Pelosi and corporate democrats are being paid handsomely by wall st. to maintain the outdated status quo, throw in the towel and lose. Why else do you think she would continue to write sternly worded letters to an illiterate a**hole when his words and actions suggest that he will never play by the democrats’ antiquated set of rules of governance?

By doing so, corporate democrats don’t have to answer to a restless electorate that desperately wants background checks on guns, medicare for all, legalization of pot, sound regulations on all corporations, green new deal jobs, college debt forgiveness and most importantly higher taxes on the inbred wealthy. Instead, democrats can sit back in the minority and allow the republicans to fumble their way through the business of legislating for their oligarchic masters while at the same time whine about the lack of a real legislative agenda while fundraising from those same oligarchs. Makes sense when corporate democrats like Pelosi and Schumer continue to take the progressive base for granted while foolishly trying to outreach to the lobotomized denizens of possum hollar who never vote for democrats, but often tell the editors of the NYT what they want to hear in the bogus spirit of “both-siderism.”

We get the leadership we deserve. And since most ‘muricans are not willing to do the actual work of maintaining our democracy these days and instead want to be entertained, the void of leadership will most definitely be filled with grifting demagogues like fat nixon.

@R White – I think it’s worse than you think. the problem is not simple oligarchs and their proxies vs powerless progressives. What we are witnessing is the disintegration of the rule of law in this Country. The contrast between now and Nixon in ’73 is fatal to our form of government if left unremedied.

Back then we prided ourselves on saying “the system worked.” Now it is failing. The damage to our governmental institutions and norms is horrifying.

Hello R White. Well said, very well said. It is a shame how the current Democratic leaders who are stuck in their prime days of the 1980’s -1990’s are now missing the very movements driving the Democratic base. This clinging to the mythical center, or the Joe Biden reach across the isle and work with Republicans ( who hate everything Democrats stand for so the only way they will work with Democrats is if the Democrats cave and give the Republicans what they want, which is what we seen through out the entire 8 years of the Obama Presidency ) These corporate sponsored “wall street don’t make waves that will cost us profit” Democrats are leading us to another tRump term and the total loss of democracy. I had high hopes for Pelosi even while I detested spineless Chuck Schumer. Now I think the entire older leadership needs to go. The new freshmen congresspeople have shown the way , leadership needs to get on board or be replaced. Hugs

Hello TG. I read this earlier this morning, thank you for making a post on it. To my Toy Box readers I suggest everyone give Mock Paper Scissors a try. I love the blog / website that has a diverse content and it can make you laugh, make you angry , make you cry. Plus the commenters are both smart and witty. I recommend you browse it, I think you will enjoy it as much as I do. On the article the post is about, this is a great write up on how to understand the amount of corruption that tRump committed. Let me give you a quote from the article.

What Trump is alleged to have done is not a garden variety crime; it’s worse. It involved misusing $250 million in aid appropriated by Congress for his benefit—the kind of gross misconduct that easily clears the bar of high crimes and misdemeanors set by the Constitution when impeaching a president. Which means the best way to hold Trump accountable for that misconduct isn’t a criminal trial; it’s for Congress to impeach him.

I would also recommend reading Jim Wright’s essay from 9/21 at his Stonekettle.com blog. His reasoning is that we’re on a severe downward slide, and it’s not slowing or showing any signs at all that it won’t keep increasing the pace, because………..that would require people in High Places actually DOING SOMETHING
Inertia, as it turns out, is NOT our friend, and just like Gravity, it sucks. These politicians are NOT running scared,they’re hunkering down, and it’s due to just a handful of reasons: Fear, of the unknown and of Change in particular, and fear of losing one’s support by Those In Charge when it comes to getting re-elected, along with a few others.
When a Rep has to spend 60% or more of their time campaigning, and begging for bucks, then we are beholden to the big contributors, who seem to have our Congress-critter’s gonads in a vice-like grip.

The article was a very nice how-to guide for Democrats. I trust that we all realize, including the author, that these suggestions would not apply to Republicans. If the tables were turned a Democratic President would be Impeached by now and you’d be hardpressed to convince me otherwise.

I have only two words for Pelosi and those on her side of the Impeachment non-process:
1) COWARDS
2) TRAITORS
Those on the Impeachment side can clearly see it is not about winning or losing, but standing up the the Bully and scaring the hell out of the Schmuck. He will turn into the snivelling VillaD’JidioT he is if driven into a corner, and show his true colours, a boy wanting to run home to mommy with his ball tucked between his tails.